What To Do With Overripe Tomatoes?

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

How to save tomatoes that have started to deteriorate. If you do not have time to realize the harvest, and the fruits begin to rot, this is not a reason to throw them away. Soft, cracked tomatoes are the basis for many dishes. We offer recipes for delicious snacks and sauces from overripe tomatoes

Sauce

Rejected tomatoes can be used to make a sauce for fish or pasta in 10 minutes. Grind a few tomatoes on a grater (the skins are discarded). Add chopped garlic, parsley or basil / dill leaves + salt + pepper to the resulting gruel. It remains only to mix - ready. Serve with boiled pasta, fish, steak. Leftover sauce is stored in the refrigerator for a week.

Sandwich pasta

From overripe tomatoes, you can make a paste, such as lecho, only without boiling. Cut the fruit in half, remove the veins with the stalk, salt and on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. After cooling, remove the skin, mash (with a fork or crush). Add salt, garlic gruel + olive oil + any herbs (oregano, basil, cilantro, marjoram, parsley). It is better to mix in a blender. Spread the finished pasta on pita bread, croutons, bread - delicious!

Tomato oil

We send the tomatoes to the oven (10 minutes), cool, remove hard fibers. Load the blender with butter, tomatoes, available herbs (thyme, dill, oregano, basil) + pepper + salt - beat. The resulting oil can be used as you like: with pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, spread on sandwiches, toasts. Unused oil can be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and up to six months in the freezer.

Salad dressing

Rub half of the peeled fruit through a sieve. Add wine vinegar, mustard, salt, honey and beat. Without turning off the blender, slowly pour in vegetable oil, preferably olive oil. The resulting dressing is ideal for salads, vegetable and cereal side dishes. If you intend to keep the leftovers in the refrigerator, then leave it warm for 15 minutes before use. Then stir / beat thoroughly.

Jam

Delicious vegetable tomato jam. For jam, boil the tomatoes until thick. Add salt, sugar, lemon juice, aromas - from coriander, cinnamon to chili. It should be cooked until it hardens into a jelly-like mass.

Tomato soup

Fry several types of onions (leeks, turnips, shallots) and garlic in vegetable oil. Season with salt, pepper, add chopped tomatoes, cover with broth or water. Boil for half an hour. Grind the slightly chilled soup with a blender.

Italian appetizer or bruschetta

Prepared quickly from overripe tomatoes. Remove the defective parts from the fruit, bake for 5-7 minutes. Place the baked tomatoes on toasted bread, grated with garlic or sprinkled with grated cheese.

Salsa

The main ingredient in classic salsa is chopped tomatoes. Therefore, it is quite possible to use damaged, crumpled fruits here. Take garlic, your favorite herbs, spices, onions and tomatoes. Everything is finely chopped, flavored with lemon juice or wine / apple cider vinegar. Chili pepper can be used for spiciness.

Gazpacho

A classic Spanish dish is difficult to make, but with a batch of crushed tomatoes you can “build a homemade version” of gazpacho (cold soup). Take 6 large tomatoes, one at a time: bell peppers, fresh cucumber, red onion, two slices of stale bread, and a couple of cloves of garlic. Everything is cut coarsely, the bread breaks, everything is mixed in a bowl and covered. Let it sit for an hour or two. Then everything in a blender + wine vinegar + olive oil, then in the refrigerator. The soup is served chilled.

Tomato omelet or frittata

The Italian omelet does not have a clear recipe. The dish is considered convenient for improvisation. In any case, tomatoes are the main contributor. Defective / overripe tomatoes are fried in vegetable oil in a pan. If desired, add any available vegetables: bell peppers, onions, cucumber. The finished ingredients are poured with an egg mixture. Bring to readiness under the lid or in the oven.

Homemade ketchup

Made from overripe tomatoes. Chop 5-6 kg tomatoes + 2 onions. and cook for 40 minutes, then pass everything through a sieve. Again in a saucepan + half a glass of sugar + a full st. a spoonful of salt + 2 tsp of ground pepper + tsp of mustard + a pinch of coriander. Boil until thick, at the end pour in half a glass of 9% vinegar. Correctly cooked ketchup turns reddish-brown, the volume is reduced by a third. Pour into jars, roll up, wrap up.

Freeze

Freeze the tomatoes for later use without much effort. Wash, remove rotten areas, dry on a paper towel. Place in plastic and freezer. After thawing, remove the skin and use for any recipe. You can store it until the next harvest.